Sauron
'Sauron '''also known as the Lord of the Rings was the Great Enemy of all Free Folk in Middle-earth. He was responsible for crafting the Rings of Power and was responsible for most evils on Arda. When Morgoth fell, he took the former's mantle and took command over the remaining forces of Orcs, Trolls, Spiders, Bats, Dragons, Fellbeasts, Wraiths, Wargs, Werewolves, Vampires and Balrogs. He made the One Ring to control the others, but he lost it and was forced to flee in Dol Guldur. There he attempted to claim the Lonely Mountain during the Quest of Erebor, but was forced by Gandalf to reveal himself and returned to Mordor. Through the ''palantir ''he began influencing Saruman, who soon entered his service. He put all efforts in regaining the Ring, but he was defeated when it was destroyed in Mount Doom. Sauron's physical body died, but his spirit was sent to the Void, where he would be released during Dagor Dagorath by Morgoth. History Before Arda Mairon was the most powerful of the Ainur, created by Eru Iluvatar in his own image and gifted with all except wisdom. Like the Father, he was immortal and had authority over all the Ainur, being named The Son or The Son of Eru. He eventually married Melian and the two had a son Malraugin. He came to desire to be like Eru but his Father told him that there can be only one Creator. He became a close companion of Melkor and shared his ideals that the Children of Eru Iluvatar were threats to their reign. Unlike the elder Vala, Mairon wanted not to destroy Arda but supplant Eru as creator of the world and rule over all. So much he desired this, that he convinced the other to help him gain control of the universe. Without Melian knowing, Mairon took the name of Sauron and together with Melkor (now Morgoth), plotted in secret to transform Arda in his dominion. He was forced to act under the fallen Vala's directives, but in truth Sauron was never loyal to Morgoth and in time came to grow in power and manipulate the other into furthering his own agenda. First Age He started kidnapping Elves and learned from Morgoth to breed the Orcs from them. He was among those present when the Dark Lord declared open war to the Free Folk of Middle-earth and the Ainur. He even offered his son to his master and bore witness when he was turned into a Balrog. Pleased with that, he sent Malraugir to Angband to serve under general Kosomot. When Morgoth was captured and chained by the Valar, Sauron assumed command over the creatures of Utumno and continued to battle with the Elves of the North. At the time of the Dark Lord's return, he had fortified the fortress of Angband and was experimenting on the cross-breeding of Orcs and Men. As a reward for his service, he received one of the Silmarils which he put in his iron mask. He fooled Melkor into believing that after all those years, he had remained faithful to the Black Enemy. To further fuel his hatred for Free Peoples, Morgoth revealed that Melian had married with another, King Thingol of the Elves living in Beleriand. Angered by this, Sauron unleashed five hundred hordes of orcs upon the land, giving the order that his former wife be brought to him alive and unspoiled alongside her new daughter, Luthien Tinuviel. However, chieftain Boldog was slain by the king and the creatures returned to their masters. When the Elf-maiden went on a quest to free her lover Beren, Sauron attempted to capture her himself, thinking he could use her as bait for Melian. He failed and she claimed his Silmaril. He fled back to Angband and later participated in the War of Wrath, during which he led Morgoth's servants into battle against the allied men, elves and dwarves. He lost a duel with Eonwe and bore witness to the destruction of Thangorodrim, which resulted in the demise of his master. Second Age Sauron had in fact survived the War of Wrath, claiming the mantle of Dark Lord. He faked his repentence of the ways of evil, while secretly continuing his schemes. Unlike his master, he planned not to destroy Arda but control it. He reorganized the former's forces and began breeding Orcs and Trolls for his army. He began forging the Rings of Power with which he attempted to dominate the wills of the kings and queens of Dwarves, Men and Elves. Only Men fell and became the Nine, wraiths enslaved to do his bidding. In secret, he tried to recreate the experiments of Morgoth to create dragons which resulted in the birth of Smaug and lesser fire-drakes. At the end of the First Age and during the final battle of the War of the Last Alliance, Sauron went on to personally lead his hordes against the Free Folk but lost the One Ring in a duel with Prince Isildur. He was defeated and his body broken, but his spirit escaped to the fortress of Dol Guldur where it remained for some time. Third Age In Dol Guldur, he regained much of his strength though he was weaker than ever before. He dispatched Smaug to claim the kingdom of Erebor, while also being behind Azog's conquest of the North. Through spies he learned of his son's survival and used his sorcery to increase Malraugin's power. He sent several Messengers of the Eye in Moria in order to give the Balrog his orders. During the Quest for the Lonely Mountain, he was forced by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, who had been suspecting that the Enemy had in fact lived on, to reveal himself. With the defeat of his forces in the Battle of the Five Armies and the death of Smaug, Bolg and Azog, he was confronted by the White Council and returned to Mordor. With most of his army prepared, he sent Murazor to destroy Minas Ithil, thus creating the ruined city known from then on as Minas Morgul (''Dead City). He found a ''palantir ''in it's treasure chamber and used it to influence the already weakened mind of Saruman the White, filling it with doubts. Hopeless, the sorcerer began trying to find the One Ring for himself, but when he realized it wouldn't help the Free Folk win, he gave up. Sauron offered him a place at his side and Saruman became one of the most loyal followers of the Dark Lord. The Lord of the Black Land had the creature Gollum captured and interrogated him on the whereabouts of his prized possession. He then sent the Nine to the Shire to kill the Ring-bearer, while also using Saruman to battle the Rohirrim. When the wizard was defeated, the Witch-King killed and the Battle of Pelennor Fields lost, he put all efforts into breaking the kingdom of Gondor. While the forces of Good and Evil fought at Morannon, the hobbit Frodo Baggins threw the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom where it had been forged, thus destroying it. Sauron felt that, with his tower crumbling beneath his Flaming Eye and his body vaporized. His spirit was left almost powerless and sent into the Void. Dagor Dagorath When Morgoth escaped the Void, Sauron was able to return together with all of his servants. When the first Dark Lord asked him to return to him at once, he declined his former mentor's wishes as he wanted to rule over a universe of terror, tyranny and corruption not to destroy the world itself. All of Morgoth's servants recognized Sauron as the greater evil with a more plan an even more sinister (while Bauglir would kill an enemy, Gorthaur would make that enemy suffer so much until he/she would wish death and would not receive it but more torture). Thus the two Dark Lords became rivals and only allied out of the need of battling the Valar. Morgoth was killed in combat by Eönwë, but Sauron and his followers continued to fight until Eru IIuvatar himself challenged him. The two fought and each mortally wounded each other. In his last moments, he insulted The Father, mocking him for being weak and soft. Instead Eru told him that even after he had done what he had done, he still loved him and would forgive him as he called the former Mairon his Son. With that, Sauron passed away and his spirit was never able to return, yet his evil influence could still be felt in the hearts of Men, Elves and Dwarves. Category:Dark Lords Category:Mordor